


Finding Her Way Home

by SaneCharlie



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, world without humans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 07:45:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19291345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaneCharlie/pseuds/SaneCharlie
Summary: When a little starly called Maria loses her flock, she's fortunate enough to find a friend, and they set out across the island to help her find her way back to her family.





	1. The Storm

She had been flying forever, and there was still nothing but water beneath her, endless water that stretched out to the horizon in every direction. The rest of the flock seemed focused and unruffled, driving on towards their destination without being bothered by the lack of any sign of land. She tried to match their drive, but it was so hard, her wings were burning with the effort of staying aloft.  
Peter, one of her older brothers from a previous clutch, fluttered nearer, and the star on his face gave him a serious expression as he asked: “How are you holding up?”  
She tried to give him a reassuring answer, but when she opened her beak she could only pant. He chuckled a little, breathlessly, and said “Well, don’t worry. It won’t be too much longer before we reach the coast, and then we’ll all rest our tired bodies.”  
Even if she could have spoken, words couldn’t have expressed how grateful she felt towards him in that moment, and that feeling sent strength surging into her wings. She surged forwards in the flock for a few moments, before settling back into the steady pace of the rest of the flock. She focused on other sensations – the wind under her body, the chill coming off the open water far below, the calls of her family around her.  
It took her only a moment to realise when those calls turned to alarm.  
She glanced in the direction of the loudest cries, and what she saw almost startled her into stillness. Out of nowhere, out of a clear sky, a storm was suddenly brewing, clouds pouring into the air and already starting to flash and rumble. The flock shrieked its fear, and picked up speed. She did her best to do the same, pouring everything she had into getting just a little more speed, focusing every scrap of willpower on that single goal. It isn’t far, she told herself. The coast will have trees, or caves. Shelter. Safety. It isn’t far.  
Then the first raindrops started to hit her feathers, and she glanced up and saw the storm overtaking her.  
The flock was in terror, a wild mass of fluttering feathers beating hard against the power of the storm. Every single member was out for themselves, striving alone in the crowd, pushing themselves just as she was. But so many of them were bigger, stronger, and she started to fall behind. She tried to call out to them, but her breath was feeble and was torn away in the strong gusts at the edge of the storm.  
And after a moment, she was torn away too.  
She kept struggling against the buffeting winds, no longer trying to stay with a group that she couldn’t see, no longer trying to make it to a coast she didn’t know, only trying to stay aloft with the last traces of her will. The wind hurled her this way and that until she had no idea which way she was facing, and still she kept hurling herself against the air, hoping against all the odds that somehow she might make it through.  
Blackness pushed in from the corners of her vision, and she kept pushing, and everything started to blur, and she kept pushing, and she could barely see anything at all, and she kept pushing, and the water was getting closer, and she kept pushing, and  



	2. Setting Out

Sand was scratchy in her feathers.  
Her eyes cracked slowly open, bright morning sunlight burning against them, and as she started to wake, all the pains of her body made themselves known. Every muscle was aching from the strain of her flight, and it felt like she had a lot of bruises too. Obviously the water hadn’t gone easy on her after she’d passed out. She wondered if any of the rest of the flock had fared better.  
The flock! Instantly she was wide awake, and managed to pull herself upright – unsteady, but on her feet all the same. She looked around, trying to spot the faintest sign of brown feathers, or hear a distant call. But there was nothing. Nothing except the sandy inlet, a little patchy grass, and the sound of the waves.  
“So you’ve woken up. I wasn’t sure if you were going to.”  
She hopped into the air in shock and tried to flutter backwards, but she hadn’t counted on just how sore her wings were – they felt as heavy as lead, and she landed awkwardly.  
“Don’t try and fly!” the voice scolded. She tried to focus on its source. Her vision blurred for a moment, and then – there. A vague blue shape became a blue pokémon with a brown shell. It looked very serious, and she took an involuntary hop backwards when she saw that a couple of sharp teeth protruded over its lower jaw.  
The wartortle sighed. “Please. I’m not going to hurt you. Stay still so that I can look at you, alright?”  
They lumbered forward on their rear legs, and she trembled as they towered over her. They reached down, strong claws taking hold of her wing and pulling it outwards. The grip felt surprisingly gentle, even as they poked and prodded at first the left wing and then the right. They grunted. “Nothing too badly damaged. All you need to do is rest a little, and you’ll be fine.”  
“But I can’t!” she shrieked. “I have to find my flock, I have to!” Her anxious wings beat the air, and once again she tumbled heavily to earth.  
The wartortle watched her with that same stoic, serious look. “Well, you aren’t going anywhere like that. Do you know where they were going? Have you migrated with them before?”  
She shook her head. “I don’t even know which direction they were going. We were caught by the storm over the ocean, we got separated...I’ll never find them!” And she’d never see any of them again – not her parents, her sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles...her whole world, lost so quickly, lost forever. Tears sprang into the corners of her eyes, pushing away the last grains of sand.  
“Hey now.” Their voice was a little softer now, and kinder. “You don’t have to cry. The ocean is all in that direction, alright?” They waved an arm in the direction of the water. “So you must have been going this way.” The other arm indicated the inland side. “If you go this way and keep looking, you’re sure to find them sooner or later, isn’t that right?”  
She sniffled, nodded. “But, but I can’t fly, not when I’m like this!”  
“Then it’s lucky I’m here to carry you.” They made a little gesture at their shoulder. “Climb on.”  
  
It was a little tricky, travelling by shoulder. She didn’t want to grip too tightly with her talons, but she didn’t want to fall off, and the wartortle’s skin was slippery. She found her balance after a little while, pressing back a little against the upper edge of the shell. As she got comfortable, the rocking as they walked turned from jarring to almost fun. She watched the river as they walked along its bank, and gazed up at the gathering canopy of trees. Everything was so big and lush here!  
“So, if we’re going to be together for a while, I should probably stop thinking of you just as ‘Starly.’ What’s your name?”  
She’d never given her name out to a stranger before, but this one seemed nice enough. “It’s Maria. What’s yours?”  
“Maria, huh? Well, you can call me Isabel.”  
She looked at her new friend’s face. It was interesting. She’d never seen a Wartortle up close before, and it wasn’t what she’d expected. For one thing, she wasn’t as frightened as she would have expected. Her parents were always telling her how scary the world was beyond the flock, and how dangerous it could be. But Isabel just seemed nice. “Your face looks all worn.”  
“Well, I’ve been wearing it a long time.”  
“You’re old?”  
There was very nearly a smile. “Old enough.”  
“Wow.” A strange thought occurred. “Then why aren’t you more evolved?”  
Isabel harrumphed. “That’s not a very polite question.”  
“Oh. Sorry.”  
“No, that’s alright. No harm done.” She sighed. “Look, what do you know about evolving? What does it mean?”  
“It means...getting stronger. Growing up.”  
“Hmm. Well, that’s sort of right.” Isabel looked up at the trees, thoughtful. “The longer you live, the more likely you’ll evolve. But you don’t do it just because you’re getting older. We usually evolve when we’ve been through enough...stress. The worse your life is, or the harder it is, the more likely you’ll evolve. That’s part of why so many pokémon like to fight – they want to get stronger. Fighting and winning helps them do that.”  
“But you don’t fight?”  
“No, I don’t.” She gestured at the river. “I live here. I have everything I need, I don’t really see anyone else. I don’t need to fight.”  
She wasn’t sure she understood, so she didn’t say anything. Isabel seemed to notice. “I’m sorry, this is probably too much for you. Forget about it.”  
“No, that’s okay.” After all, the older members of the flock often talked about things she didn’t understand, and that was okay with her too.  
They travelled on quietly for a little while, the gurgle of the water and rustle of the leaves doing enough to fill the silence. The calm and quiet of the scenery helped to still the shouting of the fears in her mind, keeping them from taking over, but they were still lurking in the background. She tried to straighten her ruffled feathers, without too much success – they were incredibly untidy. Maybe when they stopped, she could take a better look at them. She wasn’t great at preening. Peter had tried to teach her to be better, but somehow she didn’t learn well, and she always ended up poking things the wrong way.  
There was a rustle in the grass that didn’t sound right, and all other thoughts disappeared. Isabel had stopped too, looking off to the side.  
“What’s-”  
“Shh.”  
The air was still, but Isabel was tense, her body locked in place, and when she spoke again her voice was tight. “Hop down. Get up the bank and hide, into the trees if you can.”  
She did as she was told, clambering into the longer grass. Her wings were still too sore to make it up to the tree branches, so instead she half-hid behind a trunk and peered out at Isabel. She was still standing there, perfectly quiet, seemingly watching the water.  
There was a rustle and a rush, and Isabel dived to the side as an enormous purple body flashed down at her. A moment later it reared up again, and the arbok flashed its hood down at Isabel. She looked very small in front of the enormous serpent, very small indeed. Marie’s heart was beating like a hammer. It glared darkly, and hissed: “You’re a long way from home.”  
“So are you, Venus. Isn’t this the wrong side of the river for you?”  
Venus smiled broadly, flashing long fangs. “My family has grown a little, so my territory has grown to match. And you? Are you still living alone, hiding at the mouth of the river with the rest of the muck?”  
She could see Isabel’s mouth tighten into a harsh line, but her voice gave nothing away. “I still live in the same place, yes. I’m happy for you, I’m sure you’re very proud of your new children. I’m sorry to have bothered you – I will make sure that I avoid this part of the forest in future.” She half-turned away, but Venus moved quick as lightning, and was once again blocking her path.  
“Oh, no, little one. Not this time. You’ve bothered me often enough, and now you’ve wandered right into my grove...” His tongue flicked out and tasted the air in anticipation, and she reared up.  
“No, wait!”  
Maria dashed out from behind the tree, right down beside Isabel. “It’s not her fault she’s here! It’s only because of me. She’s helping me to get home. I lost my flock in the storm, and they’ve gone on without me, and she said she’d get me to them so that’s why we’re going this way. It’s all my fault, so please forgive her!”  
Venus slunk closer, scales smoothly sliding over the grassy ground. "Why, Isabel. You didn't even mention your new...friend. And what a beautiful story. Really, I'm touched." Her eyes glinted as she reared up over them, her hood showing its intimidating eye markings, as her real eyes stared darkly down. “Deeply.”  
Then at once she turned on her tail and began to slither away. "Best of luck to you both in finding the girl’s flock. I'm sure you will be just fine." And she disappeared into the grass.  
Marie looked cheerfully at Isabel, but didn't see that reflected in her face. Instead, her expression was still grim and hard as she carefully watched the grass for any sign of further movement. Finally, after several long moments, she seemed satisfied enough, and said: "Alright, let's go. Quickly.”  
Marie might have said something, but Isabel’s expression told her that she wasn’t interested in discussion. Instead she hopped lightly onto her shoulder again, and Isabel walked quickly away from the river, into the trees. Once they’d been moving for a few minutes Marie broke the silence.  
“Why are we running away?”  
“We just need to get out of here. Fast as we can.”  
That was enough for a little while longer, since as they rushed through the forest Maria didn’t want to interrupt with more questions. Isabel’s pounding feet thumped against the earth over and over again, rustled against the grass. She rounded a tree, and almost ran straight into a small group of oddish that were digging their bodies halfway into the soft earth for a morning nap. They all gave identical blank looks as she diverted herself around them, and Maria took the chance to say: “Why do we need to get away? What is so scary?”  
“Venus let us go. Without a fight. Without even much of an argument.” She was breathing a little hard, as they got further from the river and started heading uphill. The trees were starting to press closer together, and block out most of the midday sun, the few beams that pushed through the leaves only serving to make the shadows look darker. “That’s not like her.”  
“But she said it was because she liked my story?”  
“And maybe that’s true. Or maybe she just had a plan. Wanted to set up a trap, or...”  
A thick purple body darted from behind a tree, and just barely missed Isabel as she stepped quickly backwards. The ekans wheeled to attack again, and she darted forwards, grabbed it and then hurled it as hard as she could, sending it sailing across the small clearing and between a couple of slender trees.  
Venus hissed as she revealed himself in front of them. “Or set up an ambush. Yes.”


	3. The Showdown

Venus’ body hung over them, holding their attention as four more ekans revealed themselves from behind trees, the full group of five surrounding them completely. Venus grinned, and pulled herself up to her full height. The slivers of light dappled down, rippling across the face on her hood, and Maria quailed as it glowered down.  
Isabel muttered: “When I move, you need to get out of here. Understand?” Just fly as fast as you can.” Then, louder, she said: “I take it you had to go get backup. I guess I’m just too tough to take on by yourself. Or is it little Maria that you’re frightened of?”  
Venus’ expression twisted into a vicious glare, but her voice was level. “I simply thought my young would benefit from the chance to learn to hunt. Someone like me would be wasted hunting weak pokémon like yourselves, but perhaps you can be worth something to them. Try and put up a bit of a fight!”  
Isabel shouted “Go!” and hurled her into the air, just as Venus flicked her tail, a movement her children obviously took as a command. As one, they surged inwards, closing Isabel into a tightening ring of purple bodies. Maria fluttered up to a high branch and perched there, catching her breath and watching the desperate skirmish below.  
The four ekans were circling closer, cutting off any escape, and Isabel was turning, turning, watching for any sign of a gap or an attack. The whirling wall of scales pressed in further – then suddenly the one at her back leaped forwards. Maria shrieked "Behind you!" and Isabel hurled herself to the side, barely avoiding its sharp teeth as it passed. She rolled and scurried towards the gap, but two of the others cut her off, glaring fiercely.  
She gave them a dark look – Maria only caught the edge of it, but she'd never seen anyone look so scary. The ekans seemed unconcerned, though, until she backed up her glare with a powerful stream of water from her mouth that sent them diving out of the way. One of them was almost completely successful, taking only a glancing blow, but the other was taken full-force. The water picked it up entirely, carrying it a short distance before casting it into a tree, and when the water stopped, it stayed slumped there.  
That still left three ekans facing her, as well as Venus still sitting in the background. She didn't look pleased at the way the fight was going, but neither did she seem worried enough to try and intervene. Maria was quaking in fear. Her friend seemed tough, but she was so outnumbered...it didn't seem possible that she could win alone. But what could one tiny little starly do?  
The ekans had given up on circling, and were each sitting coiled close to Isabel – two of them flanking her, and one in front. She couldn't escape, but none of them seemed entirely confident about what to do next.  
Then one of them – the same one that had avoided her water jet before – darted in for a bite. Isabel tried to dodge again, but she was tiring, and the attack left a red line across her foreleg. She swiped a claw after it, missed entirely. The other two were made brave by their sibling's courage, and darted in on both sides. The next few seconds were confusing, a blur of blue and purple as both sides hissed and slashed and fought in close quarters, and the tall grass shook as it obscured it from her sight. Then the attackers backed off, and she got a better look. Both sides were wounded, now, and Isabel limped as she took a couple of steps backwards. She was covered in scratches and dirt, but the ekans had fared no better, and they moved slowly, warily. One of them darted its head forwards and then quickly back as Isabel's claws came up in its direction. Another tried again to flank her, hoping to end the battle quickly.  
It got its wish. Isabel inhaled deeply, and once again water jetted powerfully from her mouth. The flanking ekans was the first to take the brunt of it, and then she quickly turned her aim on the others, sending them tumbling away. One tried to rally after the stream had moved off it, and was swiftly punished, hurled backwards by irresistible water. It only took a few moments before all three lay on the ground, barely moving.  
The water stopped, and a moment later Isabel deflated, almost collapsing to the ground and only preventing that by leaning heavily against a tree. She was clearly wounded, and it would take a while for her to gather her strength again. But she was victorious, and Maria felt like cheering at the top of her lungs.  
Then Venus reappeared, and wrapped a coil around Isabel's body.  
She hissed as she moved, wrapping her tightly until the little blue body and brown shell were almost completely hidden from view. Maria could see her friend struggling, but it was obvious she had no strength left to spend. Her head thrashed back and forth as Venus' terrible eyes gazed down at her.  
"I've always hated you," she spat, "ever since I first saw you. Such a pitiful creature. And so proud, so self-important. Always thinking yourself better than the rest of us. Keeping yourself apart. And where has that led you?" The coils tightened, squeezed, and Isabel groaned aloud, a sound that ripped into Maria's little heart. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this. My children may not have been strong enough to best you, but it will do them good to know that the little beast who fought them will never be a problem again." Another tight squeeze, but this one didn't bring out any groan – Isabel didn't have enough breath for that, and could only give a pitiful, hopeless little whimper.  
Maria was in the air before she realised what she was doing. She felt as though she were watching herself from the outside, as she dove, gained speed, and swooped straight at Venus' face.  
Venus was so focused on tormenting Isabel that she only saw her new attacker at the very last possible moment, as tiny claws and beak aimed at her eyes. She hurled her head aside, and Maria felt her claws scrape against the scales of her hood as she passed. Her swoop took her high again, and she landed lightly on another branch before turning to face her opponent.  
The big pokémon looked angrier than ever at this development – and more importantly, she looked distracted. Though her coils hadn't loosened enough to let Isabel free, it looked as though they were letting her breathe a little more easily. Marie set her face in a serious expression, and started to figure out how best to get her friend free.  
Ignorant of any of these thoughts, though, Venus was taunting her. "Pathetic! What a pitiful display! What did you think would happen when you attacked me? Did you think you would magically get your friend away from me, and the two of you would run off free and happy?" She scoffed. "The real world doesn't work that way! In the real world, the big ones beat the little ones, and the little ones lose or run away."  
Her dark eyes fixed on Maria's own. "What's your choice, little one? Lose? Or run away?"  
She didn't say anything at all in response – instead, she began another dive. She dropped from the branch and gained as much speed as she could before swooping forward, arrowing sharply at the arbok's eyes. As she did so, she saw the faintest grin. It was too late to turn aside or reconsider, and she kept straight on her attack. Then Venus opened her mouth wide, showing an incredible set of vicious sharp teeth. It was too late, much too late to do anything but stare in horror as that mouth kept getting closer and wider, filling up her entire world, her universe...  
Then Venus shrieked, and she was past; unharmed, relieved, and a little confused. She wheeled around without landing, and saw Venus writhing around, with Isabel's mouth firmly clamped onto her side, biting deeply enough to draw blood. The thrashing finally threw Isabel free, and she landed awkwardly, but pulled herself to her feet and faced her opponent again. Maria swooped down, landing lightly next to her.  
Venus coiled on herself, her tail thrashing angrily as she stared the pair down. "Oh, you little fools. I am going to-"  
Isabel's head snapped up, a fierce look in her eye – and as she did so, Venus flinched back. "Give up. You're never going to win against the two of us. Just stop fighting and go back to your own part of the forest. Leave us alone."  
Venus's eyes had an odd expression. She shook her head, as if clearing it – and then suddenly, without a word, she turned and fled, her four children rousing themselves from their own daze enough to follow her downhill. All at once, they were alone again.  
"You did it! You scared her off!" Maria was elated, leaping into the air and fluttering her wings in delight.  
Isabel stared after her vanquished enemy. "It looks like I did. How funny. I didn't really expect to." She patted her body gently, testing it for any wounds she'd missed, and gave little grunts of pain as she did so. That testing reminded Maria of how much pain she was in, too – all that zipping around had really put pressure on her aching wings. Without bothering to ask, she took the little hop up onto Isabel’s shoulder and settled back into her spot. She glanced at her, but didn’t seem too bothered.  
“Well, I suppose we’d better keep going. We’ve lost a little time fighting, so we’ll try to keep a good pace. Are you ready?” Maria nodded. “Well alright then.”  
A pair of eyes, shrouded in shadows high up in the trees, watched them as they walked away.


End file.
